The organizers of the tragedy, Liu Yunfang and Xue Hongjun, have been arrested, while another mastermind of the incident, Wang Jindong, has been hospitalized having set himself ablaze together with four others on January 23.

According to the investigations, Liu Yunfang, 57, was a former factory worker in Kaifeng, Henan Province, in Central China. He started practising Falun Gong in 1997.

Soon afterwards, he began to boast of his "heavenly eyes" that allowed him to see "life and substances in another space." He also claimed he was one of the top 10 disciples of Li Hongzhi.

Since May 2000 Li Hongzhi has delivered lectures repeatedly urging practitioners to "devote their lives wholly to Falun Gong" so they can reach "nirvana."

Liu told fellow practitioners Wang Jindong, Hao Huijun and Xue Hongjun that he had realized what "nirvana" was. According to him, it meant giving up everything and thereby gaining access to "heaven."

Liu declared later that while he was practising, he saw his spirit carrying a lighter and gasoline to Tian'anmen Square and setting itself on fire.

He then saw his "Buddha body" spraying fire from the mouth and displaying a "brilliant light."

Liu told this to Xue Hongjun, who spread the story among other cult practitioners.

A further practitioner, Wang Jindong, claimed he had come to realize that the supreme form of achieving "nirvana" was to burn oneself in Tian'anmen Square - still better, on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

Following the latest instructions of Li Hongzhi, which urged his followers to sacrifice everything for Falun Gong, Liu, Wang, Xue and Hao met on January 10, 2001, and agreed to burn themselves to death in Tian'anmen on the eve of the Lunar New Year, January 23.

Xue suggested more people were drafted in to join them, and Liu Yunfang and Wang Jindong called Liu Baorong, Liu Chunling and her 12-year-old daughter Liu Siying, while Hao Huijun phoned her daughter Chen Guo, who was studying in Beijing and also a practitioner.

On January 16, Liu Yunfang, Wang Jindong, Hao Huijun, Liu Baorong, Liu Chunling and Liu Siying left Kaifeng for Beijing.

Xue went to the railway station to see them off, and said he would meet them in "heaven."

The six arrived in Beijing the next morning, and met Chen Guo.

They found lodgings at the house of a Beijing practitioner, but were transferred to another apartment by the local Falun Gong organization on the same day.

The seven thereupon started their preparations. They bought 40 litres of gasoline, which they poured into 14 empty soft drink bottles. Perfume was sprayed over the bottles to cover up the smell of gasoline.

The time for the burning was fixed at 2:30 pm, January 23.

On the fatal day, Hao Huijun, Chen Guo, Liu Chunling and Liu Siying took a taxi to Tian'anmen Square. They poured gasoline on their bodies in a nearby toilet and set fire to themselves on the square.

About 10 minutes later, Liu Yunfang, Wang Jindong and Liu Baorong arrived at the square in another taxi. The latter pair set themselves on fire, but Liu Yunfang did not, failing even to douse himself with gasoline.

Liu Chunling died on the spot, while the other four were seriously injured and immediately rushed to hospital.

"I did not set myself on fire, because the 'master' wanted me to stay. He wants me to live so that I could speak," Liu Yunfang explained to the police.

"They had a deeper belief than I, so they attained 'nirvana.' I had not reached their level so I changed my mind," Liu added.

Xue Hongjun was reluctant to admit his role in the tragedy. But pressed by reporters, he gave a long sigh, and said, "I'm a sinner."

Upon learning that Li Hongzhi has denied the victims were followers of Falun Gong, Xue said, "They are telling lies. Li Hongzhi is shirking his responsibility, but God will not forgive him."

With her body entirely wrapped in bandages, 12-year-old Liu Siying said her biggest wish is to go home and continue her schooling.

"I must catch up with my lessons. My classmates are going into the sixth grade, I don't want to be left behind," she said.

Chen Guo, a music college student, said she wanted to return to school so she could be a music teacher upon graduation.

But doctors at the Beijing Jishuitan Hospital said the four are still in a critical condition.

"We have transplanted skin for all four of them. But the burns are massive, and the danger of infection is high," said Li Chi, the doctor in charge of the burn unit.

Even if they survive, they face huge difficulties - their faces are seriously deformed and their hands are actually non-existent, the doctor said.

(Xinhua 03/01/2001)